Boulder – Jack Lengyel will leave Colorado in about two weeks and begin his retirement in earnest in Arizona.
He won’t, however, depart without leaving CU a few parting gifts – one potentially large present in particular: a balanced budget.
Lengyel and his staff have worked out a plan that is projected to rid CU of its $3 million athletic department deficit in no more than five years.
“We’ve got about $3 million that we’re working with that will be resolved as we move forward in the five-year projection,’ Lengyel said Thursday.
The plan must be OK’d by new athletic director Mike Bohn, who may have other ideas for trimming the deficit. But it is a start, and one of many areas in which Lengyel – during his six-month term as interim athletic director – attempted to make a difference during a rough period for CU athletics.
The athletic department Bohn takes over officially on April 29 does not resemble the one Lengyel set out to patch up after the resignation of Dick Tharp in November.
“He started Day One and took control of what was going on in the athletic department,’ interim chancellor Phil DiStefano said. “Morale was low when he came in, and he worked with the staff because he’s very open. He started to build the morale. He also went around the community and the country talking about the University of Colorado, and he was able to get many of our fans back on board.’
On the process of mending fences in the community, Lengyel said: “I would listen to their concerns and I would talk to them about where we were and what we were doing and the changes we were making. Then I made a personal plea for them to stay in the boat: ‘We need you more than we needed you before.’ And to a point, everybody said, ‘OK, I’m going to do that.”
Lengyel called the new budget plan one of the most gratifying accomplishments during his term. Also on the list was helping football coach Gary Barnett get some of the recruiting restrictions eased, specifically, allowing current players and recruits private time with recruits to talk about the program.
“That was very critical,’ Lengyel said. “That’s your best recruiters, your student-athletes.’
Lengyel said he is proud of improved communication within the athletic department. He instituted weekly staff meetings and doubled the number of staff involved at them. He began monthly coaches meetings and started monthly staff birthday parties that were regularly attended by 30 to 40 people.
“It was kind of a corny thing, but it got people face time and working together,’ Lengyel said. “Morale was a critical factor.’
But not everything turned out as he had hoped.
Lengyel called the CU Board of Regents’ vote against the mandatory football seat donation plan “the biggest disappointment I’ve had since I’ve been here. (Regent Tom) Lucero decided to be the casting vote that denied us access to that particular funding, which was critical.’
Because of that, the athletic department will have to find a way to cover the projected $1.4 million it would have received from the donations.
Even so, Bohn said he has inherited a strong foundation.
“Jack was able to … keep some things moving and bore down on some issues to help bring those to the surface,’ Bohn said. “There’s no question that it’s a huge benefit.’
Chris Dempsey can be reached at 303-820-5455 or cdempsey@denverpost.com.
